FORT KNOX, Ky. — Officials at Godman Army Airfield commissioned a new fuel cell at Fort Knox Aug. 3 that provides greater efficiency and storage capacity.
Under the old system, each of three tanks had their own pumps that required employees to couple and uncouple from to fill the storage tank with jet fuel. The new $3.8 million system couples to a tanker in one location, allowing an employee open or close pipe valves to each of four storage tanks.
Garrison Commander Col. Lance O’Bryan visited the site to watch the process in action.
“We want to make Godman a larger airfield,” said O’Bryan to contractors and employees participating in the commissioning event. “We can’t make Godman a larger airfield if we can’t fuel and refuel aircraft when they come out here. We want to bring in big fixed wing aircraft.
“This is our first step toward that.”
Engineers tested the new system throughout all of the previous week prior to flipping the switch. They ran a battery of tests as O’Bryan and others watched.
The new cell with four tanks compared to the three prior increases fuel storage capacity from 20,000 gallons to 60,000. O’Bryan acknowledged the significance of the increase.
“As far as efficiency on the airfield and being able to fuel big fixed wing aircraft, it’s a huge thing,” said O’Bryan. “Just the capacity we get from this is going to help us move forward.”
Social Sharing